Look Past the Ugly

I was watching the Property Brothers last night on HGTV. I find them a little creepy even if the renovations they do are nice. There’s just something off about them, but that’s beside the point. I don’t know if it was during the actual show or a clip from another one, but someone stated, “You just have to look past the ugly,” referring to the run down houses they transform into dream homes. I said to myself what a good motto, thinking about the mess my house usually is. (Yes, I have talk to myself, don’t most people really?)

But then I thought, that really is a good motto. “Just look past the ugly.” It can apply in so many instances beside a house. People, for example. We’re not all beautiful and some of us are downright ugly, but if you can look past that you might meet the kindest, funniest person you’ll ever know. Or maybe the ugliness is on the inside, maybe she’s just a bitter, mean person. Can you look past that, see her as a human being, as someone God loves, as a sinner like the rest of us? Sorry for the preachiness, we also had Bible study last night, so the two kind of combined in my mind.

Circumstances. Some of us are dealing with ugly circumstances right now, unemployment, sickness, loneliness. Can we look past the ugliness in our lives and see the bits of good, the flowers, a kind word from a friends? Can we look past the present and see a future that will be better? Or see what we can make of our life now, how we can “renovate” the way we live, our priorities?

Fall’s coming soon and the winter. The end of winter is an ugly time, in my opinion. The snow’s melted, leaving everything muddy, but the plants haven’t perked up yet, the trees aren’t budding, early bulbs get bit by frost. But look past the ugly, and you’ll see spring around the bend, new life, joyous colors, a new beginning.

And I can’t forget about books, can I? I know that sometimes I have to look past a bad cover to find a truly enjoyable story. Or look past a poor plot to appreciate an amazing setting.